Can nothing touch Thomas Cook or Tui?

Thomas Cook and Tui are now too dominant in the market to be touched by a smaller competitor, say insiders working in the outbound travel business. Their practice of hard discounting has reached new levels, making it impossible for the rest of the industry to compete on price alone. The big two’s direct discounts mean that in almost all cases their direct prices are cheaper than the net price.“There is nothing in the world that is going to happen to challenge the dominance of Thomas Cook and Tui,” says one insider. “Their ownership might change, but their position in the market will stay the same. It is a fact of life now.”“These big discounts of 30-40% are killing the market – it’s crazy,” another added. “This year could be even tougher than last year, with the big two discounting like this with ridiculous prices. It is affecting the market, but we will not follow suit by dropping our prices as much – we will not follow this madness.”TTG[pictured: Zakynthos]